System RAM vs. GPU RAM/Overall Performance?

[pcguideuser745]

With games like Battlefield, and people saying that the game will not run smoothly unless you have more than 1GB of RAM, would it be wise to simply load up on your GPU RAM rather than your system RAM? After all, if you got a 256MB video card and put two of them in Crossfire/SLI, you would have a total of 512MB of GPU RAM. Or would it be better to stick with a 256MB video card and instead increase the system RAM?

[rodney3]

I would think maybe GPU RAM over system RAM but it depends on all the other specifications for the vid card, I have 2GB of RAM and a 256MB vid card but I doubt I could run BF2 on high settings.

[saphalline]

System RAM and GPU/VPU RAM are used for completely different things. You can't load up on one to compensate for the other! :p System RAM is used for game levels/files, the game engine itself, and the OS. GPU/VPU RAM is used for textures, shader data, frame buffers, and other 3D rendering info. It's possible for vid cards that are running out of their own RAM to shuffle textures over to system RAM, but only textures, and no other data can be swapped between the two. It's not the vid card's job to run the OS, so it can't do it.

Basic rule of thumb is balance. 1GB of system RAM is pretty standard for a gaming system these days, and 2GB is better. But you also have to be sure you give just as much attention to your vid card. Right now, 256MB of GPU/VPU RAM is plenty! Any more than that will be mostly wasted using today's games. So balance your RAM amounts for the best performance. Also keep in mind that GPU/VPU performance is much more important for gaming performance than having tons of RAM on your vid card! A 256MB version of the FX 5200 will get slaughtered by a 128MB version of the 6600 GT! You have to have a good "engine" in your vid card in order to justify the RAM it has.